Crush the King is the final book in the Crown of Shards series and Evie’s final chance to crush the King of Morta and his bastard brigade. This third book tests Evie and her extraordinary immunity power to their limits. Evie will take on various plots to assassinate her and her friends at this massive festival that the whole world will be attending, and I was on the edge of my seat as each assassination attempt was more dangerous than the last. We also learn how obsessed with magic the king is and how far he will go to keep it. The ending was a great twist, setting us up for the following three books centered around Gemma and her beloved Gargoyles. I can hardly wait to start them.

Estep writes the most amazing female characters! This book was super enjoyable, with the right amount of bad-assness and fantasy!

I really liked this book. I found it to be fast paced and I stayed way to late to try and finish this book. I am looking forward to more by this author.

I seriously did not want this series to end.
This final installment does give us some closure to the Mortan hijinx (or at least for the time being) and gives us a little setup for Leonidas in the next series in this world.

*Digital review copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher.

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is the final book in this fantastic Fantasy trilogy. Queen Everleigh Blair of Bellona has survived the mass murder of her royal family, trained and become a fierce gladiator, learned to harness her magic, usurped the traitor that took her family's crown, become a queen and survived multiple assassination attempts. She's tired. And she's pissed.

Everleigh decides to take the fight to her enemies and vanquish them once and for all. She and her cohorts plot to do this during the Regalia Games, something similar to the Olympics when warriors, nobles, and royals every kingdoms comes together to compete in sporting and fighting events. The gang has concocted plans, and back-up plans, and back-up plans to their back-up plans - and they will need them all. When things don't go as planned, the group will need to improvise, be daring and risk their lives to kill the King of Morta and bring peace to Bellona and the rest of the kingdom.

I enjoyed reading a more confidant Everleigh. She's come into her own with her abilities, and even though she's still not comfortable being a ruler, she does what she must to protect her people. But, she still holds out hope that another family member survived the massacre and continues the search for them. I also liked her relationship with her consort, but he seemed pretty wooden and robotic. Other than being protective of her, he didn't have much of a personality or add much to the story. I mean, I get it. It's Everleigh's story, but still. The author could have done a bit better in fleshing out his character and giving him a few more lines. But, that's a minor criticism because I really enjoyed the Court intrigue in this book and loved her giving as good as she got when it came to snarky and sarcastic remarks.

I really enjoyed this book and am sad that the series has come to an end, but am beyond excited about the next trilogy set in the same kingdom. The first book is Capture the Crown and I can't wait to read it.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and HarperVoyager. All opinions are my own.

I read the first book in this series and somehow missed the second,so reading this I missed a bit. That didn’t deter me from enjoying the book. I devoured it from start to finish. I love everything about Evie as she grows more and more into what she needs to be. Now have I have to go back and read the second one! I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I absolutely loved this book and this series. These are the type of books that I can lose myself in and get through in a day...the world building, the character development, and just the descriptive prose is what transports me into the story that I feel that I am one of the characters right alongside the hero and heroine!

This has it all!

this was a fun read and I throughly enjoyed reading the book. The characters were great and I always enjoy Ms. Estep's wriitng.

3.5 stars

This book was so similar to the Elemental Assassin books....down to the description of the weapons the MC has strapped to her body and how her magic works, many times throughout the book. Also, it is the same narrator - don't get me wrong, she is very good! - but it make me picture both Gin and Evie and the similarities in the storytelling reinforce that.

None the less, it was a good book full of action and a few surprises. Evie finds herself in a position that she must live up to her title as a Winter Queen and she does so in true form, not sacrificing her love for her people and her home.

If there are more in the series, I will read them and know that they will be enjoyed.

**Received from NetGalley for my honest review.**

Mild spoilers ahead


I was excited for the finale after series, crush the king, but unfortunately I didn't quite meet some big expectations. While the writing is still great and kept me reading, a lot of plot points were just thrown away in the middle.

For 1, Sullivan just became a side piece; a trophy consort, call it whatever you like, but the fun relationship he and Evie had in prior books was completely gone.

All the characters and their side stories took a back and to Evie and well...no, just Evie really. All that development gone...it was a shame.

Don't even get me started on the alliances Evie carefully spent the first half planning and gaining. Because they had ABSOLUTELY NO relevancy to the end plot. They literally played no role. Nada. None, zilch.

Loose ends are not tied up. We never find out the reason why Cho and Serilda don't act on their blatant and obvious love for each other, or see paloma get her happy ending when her past catches up with her.

Finally, I know I've said in the prior two books that it doesn't bother me, but the predictable plot was incredible frustrating due to the other clear flaws.

Also, I am still not sure what it means to be winter queen. I am even more confused what with Maximus talking about "the legends being true" at the end.

The only thing that can save this book is probably a spin off that accounts for many MANY unresolved plots.

AND IF I HAVE TO HEAR ONE MORE TIME HOW EVIE PLAYS THE LONG GAME I AM GOING TO LOSE IT.

Crush the King

4 stars

I could not put this one down. Overall I absolutely loved Evie’s development from the beginning of the series and even more so in Crush the King. This final installment was very action packed with never a dull moment and overall entertaining all around.

I think Estep does a great job of mixing in a lot of entertaining elements into a fantasy that makes for a really compelling and well designed story.

I also thought Estep did an amazing job of concluding the Crown of Shards series while also leaving room for more in the world and I for one would love to see more. I can’t wait to see what else this author writes!

Epic fantasy, beauty and fantastic story telling makes this a wonderful read! Romantic, beautiful and sexy fun. Great book!

I was very excited to have received this book for review from the publisher, and this is a fantastic final book to the trilogy.

Queen Evie has been playing the long game with the King's sister, a sister who he doesn't acknowledge and isn't even really considered a royal because she is a bastard. The conclusion to this long game, is one I saw as a possibility and I think Evie even mentions it a few times in the books, but the way it played out was, mwah, fantisimo!

I love Jennifer's ability to tell stories. Her writing keeps things simple, but also keeps you engaged in the story and carry you along. I always felt this connection to Evie, and wanting her to survive and win her challenges.

Evie is still continuing to grow her magic a bit in this final story. There is one challenge she faces, even knowing she'll get through it, because she's the main character, I was worried for how she would get through and how her friends would fare. All her friends were in danger, and I was really there with her as she strained her magic to go even further than it's gone, to do what she had to so her and her friends could survive.

I will say I was a bit disappointed with the love interest in the story. I wanted to see them be more than just consort and Queen, but I can hope for them for the future.

Overall, I was very pleased with the story and how everything was wrapped up. I am very grateful to the publisher for allowing me to read this story early and find how it ends. This is one of my favorite books of 2020.

Jennifer Estep knows how to create some of the very best imaginative worlds.  Her characters are fierce and brave,  heroes you want to know and embrace.

She seamlessly knows how to blend realism with fantasy making her novels irresistible and hard to put down.
Evie doesn’t have time to get bored with everything that falls on her plate.  It’s now the turn of the Regalia Games.  All members of the royalty will be present, which means that her lifelong enemy will also be there. Determined to stop letting herself be carried away and to attack, our heroine will nevertheless do everything in her power to destroy her opponent. Problem? He has the same idea.
In this third installment in the series there are some revelations that we don’t necessarily see coming and all the old characters we love. Evie is evolving while still trying to do the very best for her kingdom, even if her life is at stake.  She is an amazing heroine, remarkably loyal and likable. 

Battles, romance, magic and mayhem with stunning and masterfully executed storytelling make Crush the King  an outstanding epic fantasy read.

This is one of those series that I keep hoping will snag my attention, but hasn't. It's got all the elements that usually grab hold of me and never let go, but that hasn't happened so I'm throwing in the towel. Since I can't really put my finger on they why it's not tripping my trigger, I'm chalking it up to "it's me, not you" and moving on.

Jennifer Estep is one of my favorite authors of all time. I started with her Mythos Academy and it has only gotten better. Crush the King is an incredible book in her newest series and honestly, my favorite series from her so far.

I enjoyed this book more than the second but the first is still my favorite! This installment seemed repetitive and predictable to me but it was as fun journey!

Crown of Shards
Jennifer Estep is no stranger to lengthy series. She has eighteen books in her “Elemental Assassin” urban fantasy series. But she’s also created a solid trilogy that not only introduces an incredibly cool world, but brings her protagonist’s story through a full, complete arc. Unlike Hurley’s trilogy, I’ve been following the “Crown of Shards” books since the first came out in 2018 (covered here), and the second novel was one of my picks for best of 2019 here at Den of Geek.

The series begins when Evie, a royal from the wrong side of the royal family, is one of the only survivors of a massacre that kills the entire Blair family. Her cousin takes the throne, and Evie goes into hiding with a gladiator troupe. Suddenly, Evie is thrust into a life of combat, and she trains hard to become good at it, learning how to utilize her skills in dancing and courtly subterfuge as an asset in battle. She gains the trust and friendship of the troupe members, as well as developing an unrequited romance with Sullivan, a bastard prince from a neighboring kingdom. Unsurprisingly given the title of the first volume, Evie must Kill the Queen in order to save her own life—and restore peace to her kingdom.

The second novel, Protect the Prince, focuses more on Evie’s attempts to wrangle her nobility under control while fending off attacks from the Mortan king, who plotted the original massacre, and forging alliances with other nations. Although the intrigue and political maneuvering drive the plot, the thread of romance between Evie and Sullivan remains a strong aspect of the story. As the finale of that novel shifts their relationship, it’s a delight to see how the pair come together as a team in the final installment. Some novels need that romantic tension in order to keep the stakes high; Estep deftly moves from unrequited to passion in a way that bolsters the plot rather than taking away from it. Which is important, because the plot follows the long game Evie began in the first novel—and the threads that Estep carefully began weaving—to its ultimate conclusion.

No longer hiding behind deniable assassins, the King of Morta and Evie come face to face. Although the context is one of supposed peace—an Olympics-like tournament where the best of each nation compete—it’s clear from the very first encounter that Evie and the Mortan king would like nothing more than to murder each other. Estep alternates intense courtly intrigue—never has a card game had such high stakes!—with assassination attempts and explosions of magic, revealing just how much Evie has grown into her role as the Winter Queen, and how willing she is to risk everything to save the people—and nation—that she loves.

While the trilogy absolutely brings the story to a close, it’s nice that Estep has left the door open for more stories in this world. Some of the side characters (one who barely appears in this book) have given hints about their own narratives, and because the world of magiers, masters, morphs, and mutts is just so darn cool, I’ll be happy to come back for any story Estep wants to write.

This review appeared online at
https://www.theromancedish.com/2020/03/review-crush-king.html on March 19, 2020

Review -- Crush the King

Crush the King
By Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: March 17, 2020
Reviewed by Nancy

4.5 stars

This concluding volume of Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards trilogy opens with Queen Everleigh (Evie) Blair of Bellona girding for a final confrontation with her nemesis, King Maximus of Morta. In the first book of the trilogy, Kill the Queen, he had her entire family assassinated to put his puppet on the throne. In the second book, Protect the Prince, his agents tried to kill a neighboring monarch and his son, who’re related to Evie’s lover, lightning magier and gladiator Lucas Sullivan.

Maximus and Evie have never met in person, but they’re about to. The annual multinational games known as the Regalia will soon begin. Custom dictates that the monarchs of participating countries attend. Before the games start, however, events lead Evie to believe she needs to change her approach, to be harder, sterner, and more assertive with her courtiers and her fellow monarchs.

One thing that makes this series so engaging is Evie’s evolution from a scared nobody, a minor blip on the royal family tree, to a confident gladiator and then to a queen. Nothing comes easily to her at any stage, and when she gained the throne in Kill the Queen, she knew she had no clue how to truly be a queen. Protect the Prince showed her growing into that role, learning the pitfalls and advantages while still not feeling she’d truly earned her crown. Throughout the other two books, she has slowly learned how to wield her own magic.

Crush the King brings this arc to fruition. Her new, more assertive approach is totally believable because of all that has gone before. So is her growth as a magier.

Evie goes to the Regalia knowing she may never get a better shot at Maximus. She plans to kill him during the games and knows he will also try to kill her.

The coming confrontation will involve courtly intrigue and various competitions. Evie has help preparing from her dancing instructor, Xenia, and the gladiators of the Black Swan troupe, including Lucas Sullivan, her consort. Part of the pleasure of reading any series is seeing familiar characters return, so it’s satisfying to see that Evie’s friends still have her back.

Her arch nemesis, Maeven, also returns. A magically gifted but illegitimate member of the Mortan royal family, she is her half brother’s top agent and assassin. Maeven’s story takes a twist here, one that allows Evie to up the stakes in the long game she has played with Maeven since her family was massacred.

The pace of the story generally moves well, with solid action sequences and hot, tender romance as well as intriguing strategy sessions. Still, I would’ve liked to get to the confrontation earlier and was tiring of the prep for it. I also had issues with two particular scenes farther into the book. In one, a confrontation occurs in Evie’s tent. I thought the guards were incredibly lax, probably standing far from the tent, not to notice the noise of the fight sooner. Once they do notice it and announce they’ll check on the queen, a lengthy conversation ensues before the guards arrive. That timing was hard to believe.

Later, in Evie’s final confrontation with Maximus, he threatens to do something that, in the circumstances, he has absolutely no way to do. He’s not stupid, and this threat feels out of place—even more so because nobody else notes that he can’t possibly do that.

These were my only issues with the book. As Protect the Prince did, Crush the King gives us a broader view of the story world. We explore the island of Fortuna and its crafty owners, the DiLucri family, who’re somewhat reminiscent of the Renaissance Medicis, and learn more about the magic in the world. I especially liked the magical birds known as strixes.

The ending involved a terrific twist that solves Evie’s problems in an unexpected but satisfying way. While Crush the King ties off this trilogy nicely, Estep also plants seeds for further trouble between the Mortan royal family and Evie.

Overall, I enjoyed this book tremendously despite my issues with a couple of things. I recommend it highly.

4.5 stars

~ Nancy

“Crush the King” is the action packed conclusion to a very interesting series. I found it somewhat disappointing that not much attention was given to some of the characters, Sullivan especially, in this book. Overall, though, it did prove to be an engaging and satisfying read.